The present disclosure relates generally to computers and computer programs, and, more specifically, to a system and method for preventing programs from being run under a debugger utility program.
A computer program that is stored inside a computer often contains many protectable intellectual properties. Certain ones of these properties are readily protectable through copyright and/or patent laws. However, others of these properties are protectable as trade secrets, and therefore require the utmost level of security to prevent unauthorized use or access.
Preventing unauthorized use or access of a particular program becomes difficult once the program is attained by a user who is not subject to software licenses or other forms of protection. For example, diagnostic programs are often installed on a computer by the computer's manufacturer and contain many trade secrets of the manufacturer. Typically, only the executable (.exe) portion of the program is installed, thereby keeping the source code from the user. Further, the .exe portion of the program is often encrypted. For example, a utility program PKLITE from PKWARE, Inc. of Brown Deer, Wis., compresses the .exe portion of the program, thereby encrypting it in the process. However, this does not prevent a user from running the program through a debugger utility program. The debugger utility program makes the computer's processor operate in a suspended execution mode which causes the processor to stop execution or jump to another routine at certain, predefined intervals. For the sake of example, the processor may be a PENTIUM processor, as produced by Intel, Corp. of Santa Clara, Calif., and examples of suspended execution modes include a debug and a single-step operating mode, all of which are described in greater detail in the INTEL ARCHITECTURE SOFTWARE DEVELOPER'S MANUAL, Vols. 1-3, 1997, provided by Intel Corporation, which is hereby incorporated by reference. By using the debugger program, the user can wrongfully access the program, thereby accessing the trade secrets stored therein.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method that would prevent unauthorized access of a program, even through a debugger utility program.